Cornelius Louwrens

Fast-growing industrials group, Liberty, part of Sanjeev Gupta’s global GFG Alliance, has appointed Cornelius Louwrens, one of the European metals industry’s most prominent figures, as chief executive of its UK steel division.

Mr Louwrens, who is currently chief executive of NBH Plate, part of the international NLMK Group, will take up his post in February and will be responsible both for the performance and sustainability of the existing Liberty Steel UK portfolio and for leading the Group towards its target of building 5m tonnes of GREENSTEEL production capacity. In addition, he will support Liberty’s global growth strategy in the steel sector.

He will succeed current CEO of Liberty Steel UK, Jon Bolton, who is stepping into the role of International Development Director, leading the Group’s ambitious expansion drive outside the UK.

A mechanical engineering graduate from the University of Pretoria in South Africa, who studied management at Kellogg Business School in the USA, Mr. Louwrens has more than 20 years’ experience in senior positions with some of the world’s largest steel companies, including ArcelorMittal and Tata.

His most recent leadership roles have been with the NLMK Group. In addition to his role as CEO of NBH Plante, he is a member of the Management Board of NLMK International BV and is also responsible for driving operational efficiency across all NLMK sites in the EU and USA.  NLMK operates a vertically-integrated business model, an approach favoured by Liberty under its GREENSTEEL strategy

Sanjeev Gupta, founder of Liberty and executive chairman of the GFG Alliance said: “Cornelius brings us a rare combination of top-calibre technical qualifications, excellent operational skills and world-class business leadership. As Liberty expands it footprint across the globe, it is essential that we attract high-calibre experienced leaders such as Cornelius to guide and develop key parts of business.”

“Jon has done a tremendous job for us over the past three years, firmly establishing our steel business in the UK and helping us expand outwards. It’s important that he now concentrates fully on that wider international role,” he added.

Mr Louwrens said: “Liberty has been a story of extraordinary growth over recent years and there is lots more potential to build the business so I’m extremely excited about being part of this.”